Hi to all Ionia Co listers. Please post this on the Ionia web page to balance the newspaper articles displayed. The newspapers of 1879 were sensationalized for the readers of that time. They where full of strong opinions contained few facts and omitted many facts. I do not believe they reflect what really happened in Ionia in 1879. Jim Cyr > My connection to the Sweitzer family should be visible at rootsweb, > worldconnect, rathburn data base. > I would love copies of photos, stories, etc. > > My father was Donald Cyr, his mother Marjorie Rathburn, her mother > Laura McElroy, > her mother Martha Snyder, sister of Joseph Snyder who married Sophia > Sweitzer. > > Our branch of the family was taken in and given shelter by the > Sweitzers when no one else would. > I don't have all the details, but I will tell you what I think I know. > > > Martha Snyder and James McElroy were married in Ludington, Mich in Nov > 1872. > They had two children, Laura and James Jr. > Laura's father James McElroy died of Typhoid fever in Ludington Mich > when Laura was about 4, about 1877. James McElroy had been working in > a sawmill there. > James McElroy had leased his farm to his father, Michael McElroy in > Sweba Twp, Ionia Co, Mich. > By early 1879, Martha's father, John Henry Snyder, had purchased the > farm in a Sheriff's sale > and was trying to evict Michael McElroy and his family. > A mob had come along to help in the Spring of 1879. > Snyder went into the house and started pulling on the mussel end of > Michael McElroy's shot gun. > The gun went off and Snyder bled to death that night. > Michael McElroy was charged with murder, and later acquitted by the > third Ionia Co. jury panel, > in Oct 1879 ( Self defense) > The mob had burned the house and barn down, which was crazy since it > was rightfully owned by > James McElroy's widow, Martha Snyder. > > Martha Snyder McElroy, Laura age 6, James Jr. age 2, minus a father, > minus two grandfathers, > likely turned to Joseph Snyder married to Sophia Sweitzer to take them > in. > And either Sophia Sweitzer's father or uncle ( Mr. Sweitzer) let them > live in a one room shack behind their house and likely looked after > the children while Martha worked doing laundry for $0.25 a day. > > Thank you to the Sweitzer family for taking in the widow Martha Snyder > and her two children in 1879, > in Ionia Co, Mich. One of the children was my Great-grandmother Laura > McElroy. > > Peace on Earth, Joy to the World, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year > 2002 > > Jim Cyr